Retired boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. has hit out at his critics, insisting that even if he was to fight and beat current middleweight king Gennady Golovkin, some wouldn’t be satisfied.

Golovkin is one of the hottest fighters in the sport at the moment, having bludgeoned his way through the middleweight division, and prior to Mayweather's retirement, there was some talk about a possible showdown. However, Mayweather has claimed even a win over Golovkin wouldn’t change the minds of his detractors, per FightHype.com (h/t Edward Chaykovsky of BoxingScene.com):

Once I fought and beat everybody, first it was, 'Mayweather was scared of this guy!' What I do? I beat him! 'Mayweather's scared of that guy!' I beat him! 'Mayweather's scared of this guy!' I beat him!

It's getting to a point that, if me and Triple G would have fought when I was fighting, I would've beat him and then guess what! There's going to be an excuse. Now it's time for me to go to 168.

The fighter also added that he's content with retirement and proud of the manner in which he's made his fortune: "So, you know, when people get to saying, 'F--k Floyd! I don't like Floyd! He's a woman beater! He can't read,' find out if you still got to work, if you still got to punch a clock, because I can kick my feet up and travel the world every day and I didn't rob, steal, or kill nobody to get to where I got to."

Mayweather’s last professional bout was against Andre Berto in 2015, which he won via a comfortable unanimous decision. It left Money on 49 wins from 49 fights, and although he’s walked away from the sport, some still anticipate he will return for a 50th fight, in which victory would put him ahead of the great Rocky Marciano in terms of his career record.

While you guys are saying, 'I hate Floyd Mayweather! F--k Floyd Mayweather! I don't like Floyd Mayweather,' at the end of the day, every month, I get a seven-figure check and I'm very comfortable and I'm happy with that. It's not bragging, not boasting; I'm happy because I went out there and earned it the hard way.

The former fighter isn’t shy about showing his wealth off either. He posted the following on Twitter earlier this month:

Still, Mayweather is a competitor, and all the money in the world won’t replace that feeling of lacing up the gloves and stepping into the ring. Given he can make history with a win, that’s an itch he will surely give long and hard thoughts about scratching.

Should he come back, a bout with Golovkin would be a dangerous one. As we can see here, the Kazakh is a force to be reckoned with:

Despite his sledgehammer jab and thunderous hooks, it’d still be tough to be against Mayweather if this fantasy fight came to light. After all, as he noted, plenty of fighters have been put in front of him previously who were touted as the men to get the better of Money, but greats like Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao all ultimately failed.

The FightNights.com Twitter feed feels as though Golovkin does have enough to get the job done against Mayweather, though:

FightNights.com @boxing

Golovkin beats Mayweather by KO or UD. The key is his amazing jab and ability to cut the ring off. Also the size and strength is too much.

Although Money has toppled some of the top performers of this boxing generation, a 50th fight against Golovkin is surely something he’d avoid. GGG is, pound-for-pound, the biggest puncher the sport has seen for a long time, and while the American’s defence is impeccable, the Kazakh has proved to be formidable at grinding opponents down.

That being said, at the moment, a return for Mayweather doesn't seem to be inevitable. The prestige is there for the taking should he step back into the ring again, but the aforementioned quotes point toward a fighter who feels as though he’s accomplished all he possibly can and is happy to let his legacy lie.